Moonstruck (1987)

Loretta Castorini (Cher) is engaged to her longtime boyfriend Johnny Cammareri (Danny Aiello), but then has to leave for Italy to tend to his ailing mother. With Johnny absent, Loretta starts dating his hot tempered brother Ronny (Nicolas Cage). Aside from that a taboo relationship runs rampant in Loretta's Italian-American household with the exception of her grandfather and the four dogs if you count them as family.The winner of three Academy Awards and Cher was among one of them. In the finicky world of the Academy Award judges who have had their biases in the past when it came to selecting those they feel deserve Oscar recognition, the committee seemed to have twenty smiles on their faces for a film like this one that could've been easily snubbed by today's standards. I guess they liked the idea that "Moonstruck" was saturated with Italian characters that are not linked to any underworld associations. It also seems that the average age group of characters featured in here seems to be over the age of 60. Elder performers in supporting roles seems like a rarity when the movie industry caters more towards younger performers getting more exposure. This is one contributing factor why this movie stands out.The women characters Loretta and her mother Rose (Oscar winner Olympia Dukakis) are the true leaders in their respected households and in their respected relationships. It also helps that the performers are not strangers to one another so non-verbal poses are all the more effective and the dialogue within them run smoothly.Even though this movie may have given Cher tons of accolades in her performance, it didn't transform into a megastar here. Her break came with the 1985 film "Mask" which she was badly snubbed by the Oscars. Cher must've had a ten foot smile when she read the script and would've been payed cheap to play this role, let alone winning an Academy Award for her role.The real breakout star here is Nicolas Cage. Along with "Raising Arizona" which came out in 1987 as well, truly shows that Cage's specialty is his knack for comedy. His comic timing is spot on and his widened eyes are effective, we see his gift displayed in these types of films. And sure he still continues making lousy action flicks, it's comedy that really exhibits the actor that Cage is and what he could accomplish.Some of the best scenes in "Moonstruck" involve around Ronny Cammareri. When Loretta interrogates Ronny about his estranged relationship with his brother, Ronny relinquishes an unexpected emotional outburst. Later we see Ronny buttoned up for the opera a sign where romance is more welcomed than reality.The opera is a form of acting where the voice is the centerpiece of the theatre than the action. It's like giving skilled artisans colouring pencils and activity books and to tell them they can't surpass the segregated lines like the book tells them to. Cage's acting never goes outside the lines once here.The subject of infidelity comes across frequently here in "Moonstruck". The uneven account about the infidelity depicted here is that Loretta can get away with it is for her love for Ronny than she is to Johnny. But Rose's husband and Loretta's father Cosmo (Vincent Gardenia) was questioned with non-approval after quietly being with another woman behind her back even though there was never any signs of engaging in intercourse. But Rose still loves Cosmo and their loyalty to each other is what really matters. This is cleverly crafted romantic story with a great cast and an excellent script.

No sooner does Italian-American widow Loretta accept a marriage proposal from her doltish boyfriend, Johnny, than she finds herself falling for his younger brother, Ronny. She tries to resist, but Ronny lost his hand in an accident he blames on his brother, and has no qualms about aggressively pursuing her while Johnny is out of the country. As Loretta falls deeper in love, she comes to learn that she's not the only one in her family with a secret romance.......Moonstruck is a very odd affair, it's a good film, that goes without saying, but nothing really happens in the film, apart from a few family revaluations that are not that surprising anyway, as you find during the beginning of the second act, there is not one happy member of Cher's Nuclear family.Then the moon comes out and Cher realises that Cage is the one for her. Why? Because he's edgy, he's angry, he's unhinged, and the fact that he more or less forces himself on her makes him irresistible, but then, Aiello is portrayed as a bit of a wet blanket, so,you can't really blame her.But what makes the film so watchable is just how natural the family seem when they are siting around the table eating dinner, or whatever meal it is, and the scene where they are waiting for Johnny to return is an absolute hoot.It's harmless fun, Cher does grieving by adding a little grey to the front of her hair, and Cage is as brilliant as you remember, but you will find yourself wondering at what exact point he got his eyebrows and teeth done.And it also goes to show that My Big Fat Greek Wedding was a cop out, and ripped this film off no end.

(Credit goes to IMDb) Loretta Castorini, a book keeper from Brooklyn, New York, finds herself in a difficult situation when she falls for the brother of the man she agreed to marry (the best friend of her late husband who died seven years previously).I'm one of the few that don't get it. Despite the wonderful cast, I never got the appeal of this movie. The style has always gotten on my nerves, and it's not my type of romance. I didn't laugh, didn't smile very much, and the enjoyment is nullified by Cher's annoying performance. I thought she overdid it, lacking chemistry with Cage. I'm a big Cage fan, but I didn't care for his performance here. Dukakis & Aiello add charm to their parts, and I thought they were more entertaining than Cher and Cage! Lots of people love it, so It's probably just me. I don't care for it.5.3/10

Classic romantic comedy about 37-year-old widow (played terrifically by Cher) getting engaged to mismatched Aiello, only to begin falling for his younger brother, a bitter and heartbroken one-handed baker (played by Nicolas Cage in one of his better performances). Really captures the complexity of love by incorporating Gardenia and Dukakis' sub-plot(s), who play Loretta's (Cher) parents. Well-loved for a reason; but fans overlook the all-too-familiar movie flaw of having deep characters and a complex plot wrapped up nicely with a simple solution. The mood alone captures a wonderful cinema-style that was lost once the 1980s were over. For better or for worse, there will probably never be anything else quite like it.*** (out of four)